Theme For Open Heavens Devotional 17 August 2019 – COUNTING THE COST.
MEMORISE:
For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Luke 14:28
READ: Hebrews 11:8-16
8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
MESSAGE
Our Lord Jesus Christ did not impulsively come to the earth to die for our sins, He carefully considered all it would cost Him to accomplish this difficult task (Hebrews 10:5-70). He considered the cost of leaving His throne in heaven, with an innumerable company of angels at his beck and call, to live on earth as one having nowhere to lay His head (Luke 9:58). He considered the agony of rejection He would go through at the hands of those He came to save. He considered the sorrow of having those He healed, cleansed and raised back to life crying “Crucify Him!” Above all, he considered the pain of becoming sin, hanging on a cross and being separated from His Father. Shedding more light on this, the Holy Spirit says in Philippians 2:5-8:
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
Having considered the cost of all this and much more, Jesus still chose to go through it all because of the joy of our salvation that was set before Him (Hebrews 12:3). What a wonderful Savior we have! The Holy Spirit is admonishing us to have the same mind, which counts the cost of a task before undertaking it.
The lives of many Bible characters also reflects the principle of counting the cost. Abraham is one example; he never once thought of going back to his native country after leaving it. He properly understood God’s instructions and followed through without looking back. Also, the four Hebrews boys were well aware of what was at stake the moment they got of Babylon. They quickly counted the cost, and in Daniel 1:8, we are told that Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego made a commitment to God that cost them the right to the king’s delicacies. Because they had counted the cost and made a firm commitment to follow through, they dared the fiery furnace and the lion’s den. The good news is that when we made up our minds with a strong commitment to serve the Lord at all cost, it attracts great rewards from heaven. Count the cost of going all the way with Jesus, surrendering all to Him and living holy, and then make a firm commitment to serve God’ no matter what it takes.
ACTION POINT:
Restate your firm commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ and to the cause of His Kingdom.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Samuel 20-21
Ezekiel 34:25-35:15
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 9: IN CHRIST ALONE
In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand.
In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live.
There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ
No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.
Credit – Pastor E. Adeboye